THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN SPORTSMEN. 



OFFICERS OF THE L. A. S. 



President, G. O. Shields, 19 W. 24th St., 

 New York. 



1st Vice-President, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, 

 Washington, D.C. 



2d Vice-President, E. S. Thompson, 144 

 Fifth Ave., New York. 



jd Vice-President, Hon. W. A. Richards, 

 Cheyenne, Wyo. 



4th Vice-President, W. T. Hornaday, 69 

 Wall St., New York. 



jth Vice-President, A. A. Anderson, 93 

 Fifth Ave., New York. 



Secretary, Arthur F. Rice, 155 Pennington 

 Ave., Passaic. N.J. 



Treasurer, F. S. Hyatt, National Exchange 

 Bank, 90 West Broadway, New York. 



General Counsel, Julius H. Seymour, 35 

 Wall St., New York. 



NEW YORK DIVISION. 

 A. E. Pond, Chief Warden, 124 5th Ave., 

 New York City. 



PENNSYLVANIA DIVISION. 

 Hon. J. O. H. Denny, Chief Warden, 

 Ligonier. 



NEW JERSEY DIVISION. 

 T. H. Keller, Chief Warden, Plainfield. 



MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION. 

 Dr. Heber Bishop, Chief Warden, No. 4 

 Post Office Square, Boston. 



CONNECTICUT DIVISION. 

 Ralph B. Lawton, Chief Warden, Bridge- 

 port. 



MICHIGAN DIVISION. 



J. Elmer Pratt, Chief Warden, Grand 

 Rapids. 



MONTANA DIVISION. 



Dr. E. F. Coyningham, Chief Warden, 

 Butte City. 



WASHINGTON DIVISION. 



J. S. Stangroom, Chief Warden, New 

 Whatcom. 



Applications for membership and orders 

 for badges should be addressed to Arthur 

 F % Rice, Secretary, 19 W. i\th St., New 

 York. 



AID FOR AN IMPRISONED GAME WARDEN. 



At a recent meeting of the Executive 

 Committee of the L. A. S., the-secretary was 

 instructed to write James L. Tooker, Jr., 

 who is in jail for killing a man who was 

 shooting song birds in New Jersey, in viola- 

 tion of law. It will be remembered that 

 Mr. Tooker is a State Game Warden for 

 Middlesex and Monmouth Countries, New 

 Jersey; that in the discharge of his duty he 

 found an Italian shooting song birds; that 



he ordered the man under arrest; that the 

 man threw up his gun and attempted to 

 shoot Tooker; that the latter drew his re- 

 volver and killed the Italian. The act was 

 clearly one of self-defense, yet, in accord- 

 ance with law, Mr. Tooker was placed under 

 arrest and must be tried. Meantime, he is 

 in prison at Paterson, N. J. 



In pursuance of a resolution passed by 

 the Executive Committee of the League, 

 Mr. Rice wrote Mr. Tooker, assuring him 

 of the support and sympathy of the League 

 in his unfortunate condition and offering 

 him any assistance which it might be in the 

 power of the League to extend. 



Mr. Tooker replies as follows: 



Paterson Jail, November 16, 1898. 

 Mr. Arthur F. Rice, Secretary League of 



American Sportsmen: 



Dear Sir: Your kind letter was received 

 yesterday, and it gave me much consolation. 

 I sincerely regret having been placed in a 

 position whereby it became necessary to 

 injure a fellow being, a calamity that has 

 never before befallen me. Although the 

 Fish and Game Commission, of New Jersey, 

 whose instructions I was trying to carry 

 out, seem to have abandoned me to the 

 mercy of others, I have many friends who 

 are doing their best for my comfort and 

 future well being. I am poor in this world's 

 goods, but ex-Judge Francis Scott has as- 

 sured me he will defend me to the last mo- 

 ment, pay or no pay. My friends in Perth 

 Amboy are to give an entertainment, I un- 

 derstand, the proceeds to be used as the 

 committee may see fit. 



These facts, together with many cheering 

 letters, keep my spirits up, and make my life 

 here more endurable. Although the cause 

 of my trouble gives me much sorrow, and 

 will so long as I live, I feel assured that with 

 a fair trial and an impartial jury I shall suf- 

 fer no further punishment. The enlight- 

 ened (?) newspapers seem to have dis- 

 covered that I was a fiend, and that too 

 much evil could not be laid at my door. 

 Such articles only cause those who know 

 me to work the harder for my release and 

 acquittal. 



From boyhood I have been a lover of 

 birds and dumb animals, and long before 

 the Game Commission of New Jersey ex- 

 isted, I worked for the protection of those 

 birds and animals that were being ruthlessly 

 slaughtered on all sides. In my district, 

 Middlesex and Northern Monmouth, I have 

 had the satisfaction of walking along the 

 hedges, and through the woods, with the 

 robins and other birds apparently following 

 me, so tame that I could approach within 

 a few feet of them. Many friends, since I 

 have been here, have written me that " my 



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